For PRSA members who are interested in international public relations, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management (or “GA”) is an important resource that offers valuable networking, information and learning opportunities.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) was formed in Chicago on October 25, 2000, after a Public Relations World Congress sponsored by PRSA and the International Public Relations Association. Its main purpose is to serve as an umbrella for the collaboration of organizations public relations organizations, and has “a mission to enhance the public relations profession and its practitioners throughout the world.” PRSA was a founding member of the GA and has remained active ever since, currently serving as Treasurer of the GA.

At present, the Global Alliance is a confederation of many of the world’s major PR and communication management associations and institutions, representing 160,000 practitioners and educators in approximately 50 member organizations, an impressive reach given the Global Alliance’s resources. In addition to a modest cash budget of about $85,000 from membership fees and sponsorship, the GA also receives valuable “in-kind” support from USI (Università della Svizzera italiana), which has an executive MBA program in communications and contributes much needed staff and infrastructure to the GA.

As a practical matter, the GA provides a forum for the sharing of ideas and best practices, providing information, networking, and opportunities for research and inquiry, for example, into ethical standards and accreditation practices worldwide. In addition, members of one GA member organization benefit from being able to purchase services and benefits from other member organizations at the member rate.

Although over 98% of PRSA’s members reside in the United States, global issues affect all of PRSA’s members, regardless of their place of residence. As a result, PRSA has found that the GA is a very cost effective way to assist PRSA in carrying out four objectives:

1. For U.S.-based members, providing them with worldwide resources that make them more effective professionals;
2. For U.S.-members working abroad, keeping them connected to their profession and to their respective international markets;
3. For non-U.S. practitioners, offering a connection to the U.S. profession while understanding cultural differences;
4. Finally, to have a hand in shaping the global profession.

Continue reading " Global Alliance: Connecting PRSA Members with the Public Relations Profession Worldwide "

We all know and love Twitter. It’s great to communicate a timely message, promotion or deal. It’s ideal for customer service or engaging in two-way conversations with consumers. However, I never considered using Twitter for internal communications — until now.

Continue reading " Twitter Boosts Internal Operations to Help Fight World Hunger "

During this Master Class, Jon C. Iwata, senior vice president, communications, IBM, and Toni Simonetti, vice president, global communications, GMAC, discuss the recent Arthur W. Page Society whitepaper, The Authentic Enterprise. This interactive session reviewed findings of whitepaper while asking the audience to participate in real-time surveys inquiring the same questions addressed in the study.

Key take-aways from this session:

• New priorities and skills of the new Communications Officer:
  1. Define and instill company values.
  2. Build and manage multi-stakeholder relationships.
  3. Enable the enterprise with new media skills and tools.
  4. Build and manage organizational trust.

Continue reading " The Authentic Enterprise: In a Strong Position to Succeed "

Helen Wagner, manager of public relations for 3M, in Minnesota, talks about how 3M executes campaigns on a global scale.

Some of the takeaways from this session:

• Truly global launches are rare
• Regional and country launches, grown organically, are more common
• Give your staff in other countries the creative freedom to innovate, give up some of the control, not all of the programs should be US centric or controlled
• Think more about long-range programs that build over time. One example is 3Ms Most Gifted Wrapper program for Scotch tape
• Take a program and replicate (not duplicate) a campaign started in one country to another country
• You can fund a global launch by reallocating existing PR budgets

Constraints in Global Marketing

When considering public relations programs in multiple markets, the communication team needs to consider three realities:

• Political: Type of government, political ideologies, activism
• Economic: Class structure, poverty, literacy rates, legal system
• Social: Value system, cultural influences, gender based roles, respect to authority

One of the most interesting part of the session concerned the freedom of the press around the world and how that impacts the public relations function in global companies.  She shared some resources offered by Freedom House, an organization dedicated to freedom around the world.  According its statistics of freedom of the press around the world:

Continue reading " Catching the Tailwind: Charting A Course to Global PR Success "

Chairman Emeritus of Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group, Lou Capozzi goes On the Record…Online with Eric Schwartzman about his upcoming luncheon keynote at the PRSA International Conference on restoring America’s connections with the world.

Lou Capozzi manages Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group’s public relations and corporate communications businesses. He also is president of ICCO, the International Communications Consultants Organization, which represents more than 1,000 firms in 27 countries around the world.

Show Notes:�
3:22 – Capozzi on what he will discuss during his keynote at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, MI Oct 25-28.

Continue reading " On the Record…Online with Lou Capozzi "